


oceans

by overcomes



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: M/M, Soulmate AU, it's fluff, mermaid! jaemin, pirate! jeno, uwu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-16
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-05-07 22:36:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14680884
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/overcomes/pseuds/overcomes
Summary: Jeno loved the sea.





	oceans

**Author's Note:**

> i was soft for nomin and wrote this.... the title was inspired by coldplay's song oceans (and i suggest reading this while listening to it or the whole ghost story album!!)
> 
> i may write a part 2 of nomin's adventures but i'll see if i'm inspired
> 
> enjoy!

Jaemin was lonely. So lonely

Despite what people could think, being a mermaid was no fun. Especially when you were alone. All Jaemin did was swimming and watching the humans from afar. He had thought multiple times about approaching them, the humans. Because he was bored, because he was curious, but he had never dared. Indeed, he had always been told that it was dangerous by his parents. It was funny, considering his parents had died under the hands of humans _. Maybe they should have listened to their own advice,_ Jaemin kept thinking. It sounded as if he was insensitive, but after all, they had been careless. They had left him all alone.

Loneliness ate him alive. He hated it. He already felt lonely when his parents were alive, but now that they weren't, it was awful. He had complained for years to his parents: _why can't I have a sibling? Where are the other mermaids?_ His parents always had answers, but never the right ones. _Your mother is too old to have another child. We are a rare species, it is not that easy to find other mermaids._

Jaemin was tired of it, tired of swimming in circles in hope he would find a new friend. And today was the day he would put an end to this. Whether it was dangerous or not, he decided to approach the coast, where a big ship stood.

From the way it looked, and the different symbols on it, the ship was probably full of pirates, which made Jaemin even more excited. Or scared. Or both.

 

 

Jeno loved the sea. Hence why he had decided to become a pirate. Technically, he could have become a simple sailor, but unfortunately, he had been born in the wrong family, one full of criminals. Moreover, danger attracted him. He was curious, he wanted to explore. He loved the rush of adrenaline when one of the Royal ships was in sight, when they would prepare to fight, etc.

 _Danger and the sea_. The two things that loved Jeno. And maybe this was the reason why when he saw the swimming figure afar, all he could think about was how he was beautiful, and how he wanted to talk to him. 

 

 

Jaemin could not stop thinking about that one boy. He was beautiful, jet black hair and a smile to die for. What had shaken Jaemin the most was how he had just smiled, widely, in a genuine, good way. He did not see Jaemin as a weird and ugly creature. He hadn't run away, and it made Jaemin come back the next day.

He was relieved to see that the ship was still there, but disappointed when he didn't see the boy right away. He hid behind a rock, waiting for the boy to show up. He waited and waited, observing the activity on the ship. The pirates were all pretty young and quite attractive. The leader apparently being Youngho from what he had heard. He wondered if Youngho was the boy's name, or maybe was it another name he'd heard? Renjun? Yukhei? Yuta? Jeno? He liked Jeno. Jeno was a short but pretty name. And it started with a J, just like him.

He waited again, hoping to see him, but eventually fell asleep on one of the rocks around him, as the sun sank deeper in the sea.

 

 

Jeno had been busy all day, Youngho giving him a lot of tasks for the preparation of their next robbery, and he had not been able to go on the deck and stare at the deep blue sea.

It was beginning to be dark outside and Jeno got out of his cabin, to appreciate the last bit of luminosity. And that's when he saw him. Leaned on a rock, his bare chest rising and falling slowly.

Jeno wanted to see more, wanted to see him up close. He looked around him: the other boys were eating and singing loudly, not caring at all about Jeno, so he took the opportunity. He detached one of the lifeboats and started sailing towards the rocks. Jeno was rowing carefully, somehow afraid his paddling might be too strong and disrupt the calmness of the sea and the sleeping mermaid.

He was now close to him, able to see the color of his tail: it was a mix of green and blue and it shone under the moonlight, making it look so pretty that Jeno wanted to touch it. It was his first time seeing one. A mermaid. Youngho and Yuta had told him about mermaids, about how rare and beautiful they were, and since that day, all he had wanted was to see one.

Jeno felt bad for watching the boy like this, he felt like an intruder. And what would think the mermaid? Did they even speak the same language? He was about to head back to the ship, when suddenly the mermaid boy jerked awake. He was now in the water, only his face showing, and the two stared at each other. Jeno opened his mouth in an attempt to say something but was struck by his beauty, by his mesmerizing eyes.

"Hi," said the mermaid timidly.

Jeno gasped and Jaemin felt himself blushing.

"He-hello. I'm Jeno."

"Jeno? It is pretty. My name is Jaemin."

 

Once the presentations were done, it was as if they had been friends for years. Jaemin started to talk about him and his life. He had been alone for years, so it was easy for him to open up. He just had so many things and thoughts to share. Jeno listened carefully, eager to know more about the mermaid life. When it was his turn to speak, he did not know where to start. But Jaemin helped him, by asking questions. _Many, many questions._ But Jeno didn't mind, he was glad to see they got along, and the poor mermaid boy was just thirsty for knowledge, for adventure. He could tell that.

It was already pretty late when Jeno decided to go back to the ship. He wanted to stay, but he knew that one of his friends would notice his absence at some point.

"You will come back tomorrow, right?" asked Jaemin with pleading eyes.

Jeno wanted to hug him  _How can one be so cute?_

"I will. Wait for me here, I will come to you when the sun goes down. Okay?"

"Okay."

"If I can't come... I will wave a black flag at you, okay?"

Jaemin nodded.

"See you tomorrow. Good night Jaemin," said Jeno softly.

"Good night Jeno."

And when the raven-haired boy left, Jaemin plunged into the water, screaming at the fishes about how happy he was.

 

 

"Where were you?" asked Youngho as soon as Jeno stepped on the ship.

Jeno internally cursed at himself for getting caught. He could not lie to him. Youngho had basically raised him and knew when Jeno was lying.

"I was out. Just needed some fresh air."

Youngho crossed his arms, an eyebrow raised. Anyone who didn't know Youngho would have thought he was scary: he was tall with jet black hair, broad shoulders and a muscular body. He was impressive, to say the least, but had a heart of gold. Well, towards his crew and the most unfortunate ones at least (when it came to robberies, it was something else. But he was never violent or unreasonable).

"I saw you with the mermaid boy. He stood over there all afternoon, so when I went outside to find you, I checked the rocks and there you two were, chatting."

Jeno looked down the floor.

"Is... Is it bad? Are you mad at me?"

Something suddenly changed in Youngho's expression and his traits softened.

"Jeno, I'm not mad at you. You're curious, and that's okay. But I just want to warn you: we will have to leave at some point. Don't get too attached to him... And trust me, I know what I am talking about."

"You... You met a mermaid too?"

Youngho smiled.

"I was about your age, maybe older. Junmyeon was still the captain, it was around a year before he died, and you were still a little kid. His name was Taeyong and... God was he beautiful. We stayed on that island two weeks, and every day I would come see him. We had to leave because the Royal ships were after us, but I never forgot him. I tried coming back to that island months after, to see if he was still there, but he was gone.

What I want to tell you is that mermaids and humans aren't made for each other. Either we become one, or either they become one of us. I learned that much later, though."

_Either we become one, or either they become one of us._

Jeno could not stop thinking about that one sentence. Was it even possible for a human to turn into a mermaid? And a mermaid to turn into a human? Jeno wanted to believe it, that perhaps the mermaid boy could turn into a human and join the crew. Jaemin wouldn't have to be alone anymore. Jaemin would be happy.

 

 

Jaemin only thought about Jeno. All day the memory of the boy with the prettiest eye smile in the world would haunt him (not that he complained though).

The sun was setting down and there he was again, standing on those rocks, waiting for his human friend to come up to him. Jaemin liked Jeno, he was easy to talk to. Jaemin had always thought the day he would have to open up and talk to another talking being would be awkward, but they got along, and the two were so interested in the other's life and experiences.

"How deep is the sea? Have you ever gone that deep? Is it dark? Are some fishes scary? Is there like a city in the sea?"

Jaemin laughed at how curious Jeno was. It was cute seeing how much Jeno loved the sea, and it was definitely something that Jaemin appreciated.

"It is very deep, but I've never gone that far... It's a bit scary, to be honest, and I like the sun. It's so dark down there. And no, sorry to crush your dreams but it's no Atlantis," Jaemin replied, remembering that old tale his parents had told him about, a city underwater. "The only thing closest to a human that lives under the sea are us, mermaids."

Jeno slowly nodded and stared at the sea, as if trying to imagine how it was like down there.

"And you," said Jaemin. "How's earth like? My mom told me cities are big places and there are many people that run around and there are big houses as well! As tall as palm trees, right?"

"Yeah, about that tall. Sometimes they're even taller. Earth is.... special. It's different, you have lots of landscapes. Mountains, forests, jungle, valleys, desert... It's beautiful."

Jaemin sighed. _Oh, how he wished he could see it._

"Sometimes you have snow during the cold period," continued Jeno.

"Snow? What is it?"

"It's a bit like rain, but it's white and cold. And when there's a lot of snow, everything is covered in white. It happens only in specific regions, but it’s beautiful!"

Jaemin opened his mouth in an 'o', absolutely fascinated.

"I hope I'll get to see this one day."

"I hope you will too," smiled weakly Jeno.

He wanted to show Jaemin the world, he wanted to take him to the mountains to see the snow, to a forest to see squirrels.

"Do you think it will snow here one day?" asked Jaemin.

"Yeah," Jeno said. "Maybe!"

Jeno knew it was a lie, the temperature on the island was way too hot to ever have snow. But the smile plastered across Jaemin's face made him forget about it and hope.

 

 

"Captain! Captain! The Royal ships are approaching. We have to leave tonight if we don't want to get caught!"

"You all heard Yuta, right?" Youngho said louder. "We leave tonight."

Youngho stared at Jeno. _Go say goodbye to your boy_ , his eyes said. Jeno gulped. He had imagined it before but had kept on shaking the thought away. He hated the thought of leaving Jaemin, but Youngho had warned him, and it was all Jeno's fault now.

Thankfully, Jaemin was never too far away. So, when Jeno left the big ship on that small lifeboat, Jaemin joined him right away.

"Hey! You're early. It's only the afternoon, right?"

They had set a time to meet: when the sun was going down. However, at the moment, the sun was high up in the sky.

"I know... But..."

Jeno took a deep breath. There was no turning back.

"We're leaving in a few hours, Jaemin."

The smile that was previously on Jaemin's face disappeared instantly as the words echoed around them.

"Oh..."

"I'm so sorry."

"It's fine. It was nice to meet you. Thank you for spending time with me... I should go now... Goodbye-"

"Jaemin wait!"

The mermaid boy turned around, a pained look on his face.

"Can't you come with us? Maybe there's a way for you to become human? Youngho told me about it."

Jaemin seemed to think hard, frowning, but then started blushing.

“There… There is a way that my parents told me about years ago, but I never truly believed it. So… Um, how to say it… You… You have to kiss me. If a human kisses a mermaid, the mermaid becomes human.”

Now it was Jeno’s turn to madly blush. Jeno had never kissed anyone before, and the thought of having to do it right now and to Jaemin, who was so beautiful it almost hurt Jeno’s heart, scared the hell out of him.

“If you don’t want to, it’s fine Je-“

“No,” interrupted the pirate. “I want to kiss you.”

“Are you sure?”

“If we don’t try I might regret it for the rest of my life.”

Jeno bent over and took the mermaid boy’s face between his hands, slowly rubbing his thumbs on the smooth kiss before planting a kiss on his lips.

When they stopped kissing, they stared at each other, waiting for a miracle. Jeno helped Jaemin get on the lifeboat: because if he was about to turn into a human, it would be safer.

“Jeno I don’t think it will work.”

“Just wait, maybe it takes time-“

“No, it should be happening right now. Oh god, I’m sorry I never meant to-“

“Jaemin.”

“Bother you and-“

“Jaemin!” shouted Jeno.

Jaemin looked at the boy, who was almost about to cry. He was staring down at Jaemin’s tail. Or more like Jaemin’s legs.

“What the!” Jaemin exclaimed, freaked out.

“Jaemin it worked, you’re gonna come with us! You’re gonna be on earth!”

Jaemin didn’t know if it was because he thought his legs were ugly compared to his mermaid tail or if it was because he realized he’d never be alone again, but he teared up, holding onto Jeno as if he was his lifebuoy.

 

 

Youngho accepted him in the crew right away. Though some were suspicious, they had all accepted Jaemin, and he was happy.

They had been sailing for a few weeks now, visiting (more like robbing) villages, islands, and Jaemin was still as curious as ever. Jeno and Jaemin had grown very close, often sharing the same bed. Jaemin liked to be held by Jeno, it made him safe.

One night, they were hugging on their bed, staring at the ceiling. It had been a long and exhausting day. They had almost been attacked, and though Jeno was used to it, it had been a first for Jaemin.

“I love you,” suddenly said the ex-mermaid boy.

Jeno’s heart stopped. Jaemin was very affectionate, but he had never told him those three words out loud.

“I love you too.”

“You know, I never told you, because I thought it would have made things awkward, but for a mermaid to turn into a human… The human that kisses them has to be their soulmate," Jaemin revealed. 

“Wait- does that mean, we…?

“Yes,” shyly interrupted the other, burying his face in the crook of Jeno’s neck. “We’re soulmates.”

And Jaemin swore in that moment, the smile plastered across Jeno’s face was worth every mountain, forest, and valley he had ever seen.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading, please leave comments and kudos!!! it is always appreciated


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